Snippets of Us ...

Friday, March 13, 2015

Interview & #Giveaway with Miralee Ferrell

I am VERY excited to feature Miralee Ferrell on the blog today. She is a beautiful writer and I love that we get to chat about her new book aimed toward the younger readership! And we'll be giving away a copy too ... so if you have daughters or granddaughters, you'll definitely want to read this! :)

Miralee Ferrellis a best-selling, award-winning author, speaker, accredited counselor, and American Christian Fiction Writers chapter president who has published multiple contemporary and historical romance novels. She and her husband enjoy horseback riding, gardening, and family gatherings around their eleven-acre property in Washington State’s beautiful Columbia River Gorge.

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1.So tell us what first inspired you to write your current book?A few years ago, an editor from Waterbrook read(for pleasure) Love Finds You in Last Chance, California, and loved all the horse references (it was set on a horse ranch). She suggested I consider writing a kids’ horse novel. I’d never had a desire to write for kids, but after praying about it, I felt that was the direction the Lord wanted me to go. I’ve never been sorry!

Who is your most favorite character (and yes, you HAVE to pick one J)

It would have to be Kate, the heroine in all four of the books in the series.She’s spunky, adventurous, not afraid to admit when she’s wrong, and she loves her little brother and family. Kate was patterned from my own two-year-old granddaughter, Kate, and what I believe she’ll be like at that age.

3.Is there a spiritual element or thread you hope your readers to catch as they read?

Yes, there are in all of my books, but with this set, I’ve woven in more strong family and moral values than spiritual threads. A Horse for Kate is all about friendships, trust, accepting others and not judging—all things Jesus talked about.

4.Where are you at in your writing career? Published, not published, searching, unsure?

Right now I have 12 novels out and another 5 under contract—all of them will have released by this time next year. I’ve been going in a new direction this past year, having made the decision to go hybrid. For anyone who doesn’t know what that means, I’m continuing with traditional publishing, but I’m also branching out and putting some of my work in ebook and paperback independently (Indie publishing). I have three books up now, and three more coming in the next 18 months. I’m publishing under my own imprint, Mountain Brook INK, and I’m helping other authors who don’t want to go totally on their own and haven’t been able to land a traditional contract.

5.Favorite color and why?

It’s always been blue, but especially the vibrant blues, rather than Navy blue. My eyes are blue, so I suppose that might tie into it.

6.Favorite restaurant?

A local Mexican restaurant called The Crazy Pepper. It has awesome food, the owners are super friendly, and the prices are great.

7.On our blog, Erica constantly tries to introduce the concept of tea drinking. So, are you in her camp, or do you side with Anne and I as bonafide coffee drinkers?

I’m with Erica!! I do not like coffee in any form, whether food or drink, but I love tea—especially iced tea. I’m weaning myself off Pepsi and moving to tea.

8.Tell us about the last thing that scared you to pieces

We were building our home a few years ago, and the ground floor has 10’ ceilings. I was upstairs standing near the open (no railing at that point) stair well. I turned my back and was talking to someone across the room. I swiveled around to leave, took a step and barely caught myself before falling headlong into the stairwell, 10’ to the floor below. It about made my heart stop.

9.Your favorite all-time cartoon as a kid and what was it about it that you liked so much?

I loved so many! Wiley Coyote, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Tom and Jerry (this is dating me, I know)…I can’t pick a favorite, but I think it was the high action sequences, and the silly scrapes the characters go into that kept me mesmerized as a child.

.They call me the Selfie Queen which sounds terribly self-absorbed. So can you save my reputation and share the honor by posting a selfie here? J

You bet! I took this one while sitting in my car right after having my hair cut and straightened a couple of weeks ago. I have naturally curly hair, and this is the first time in my life it’s been totally straight.

1 Last but not least, what’s one story idea you’ve had that ventures out of your typical genre?

Great question, and I don’t know if I’ll ever write it. A small mountain town, contemporary setting, where miracles start taking place and no one knows why, but the pastor encourages the people to dig deep and see what they might find. I’m also considering writing a memoir that chronicles some of the miracles that have happened in my own life.